of newport news



W. BURLINGHAM.

PEncusswE s011511 TUBE CLEANER. v

APPLICATION FILED JAN-28, |915.

Vlatellted Aug. 24, 1915.

INVENTOR wmmmvmmz.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM BUBLINGHAM, OF NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR F ONE-HALF T0 JOSEPH BBIGGS WEAVER, 0F NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA.

PERCUSSIVE BOILEB-TUBE CLEANER.

Specieation of Letters Patent Patented-Aug. 24, 1915.

To al? wie 0mit may' concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM BURLIXG- uan, a citizen of the United States, residing at Xewport News, county of Warwick, State of Virginia, have invented a new and useful Percussive Boiler-Tube Cleaner, of which the following is a specication.

My invention consists of a novel construction of a percussive boiler tube or iue cleaner, in which a plurality of independent er removable cutting blades are adapted to be radially spread or otherwise vibrated within a tube or iue to loosen and remove deposits of scale from the inner or outer sides thereof, said blades being adapted to extend substantially the entire length of the body or barrel of the tool and being located in longitudinal grooves in said body and provided with oiset portions and clamping devices located beyond the rear extremity of the tnol so that in case of breakage, anyone of wid blades can be readily replaced.

It further consists of a novel construction of resilient shank havingat one end thereof an o'set poion with a terminal tongue whereby the vibratory blade is enabled to be secured in the desired position, the opposite end of said shank having secured' thereto the cutting or scale removing devices having the externally and internally couver g walls.

It further consists of a nove construction of a body or barrel of a pneumatic tool having longitudinally extending' grooves therein adapted for the reception of the resilient Shanks of the cutting blades, the outer ends of said Shanks being free to vibrate and the inner ends of mid Shanks being rigidly in position near the inner end of the tool, whereby said cutting blades are adapted to move outwardly by the impact of the reciprocating piston therewith while their inward movement or retraction to normal position is effected by the resiliency of the Shanks to which said blades are attached, means beingalso provided for enabling the loosened and comminuted scale, which is removed by the action of my novel implement, to be blown out from the end of said tube or flue by the exhausted motive duid from the plunger cylinder.

It further consists of other-novel features of construction, all as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

For the purpose of illustrating my. inven- Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the figures.

Referring to the drawingsz-l indicates the body, bar-rel or casing of' al percussion tool having a series of longitudinal grooves 2 its cylindrical wall. and an axial bore having a screw-threaded portion 3, a largediameter plunger cylinder 4, and a smalldiameter cylindrical plunger 5 operating through it. A threaded head'is secured in the threaded widened portion of the bore, andhas aperipheral .channel T, communicating. by radial channels S, with an axial bore 9 in the head, and with an externally screwthreaded inlet pipe 10. The forward end face of said head is preferably formed with a cup or reoe 11. A disk 12 ts upon the threaded pipe 10 and is clamped agamst the upper end of the body 1 by a Anut 13, upon the threaded pipe, and said pipe is connected in any suitable way to a supply of uid under pressure, such. as compreed air, steam or other motive Huid controlled by a valve, (not shown).

The walls of the longitudinal grooves 2 in the outer periphery of the barrel support the resilient Shanks of the independent, detachable or removable cutting or im act blades 16, having converging inner ges 1 7, and converging outer impact heads 18, having the faces or edges, which are formed with transverse sen-ations or teeth 19, or similar cutting projections, and extending to converge over the lower or outer end of the barrel. A. plunger '20 is reciprocable in the plunger cylinder, and has a small-diameter piston 21 fitting the small-diameter plunger cylinder and a large-diameter piston 23 at its upper end and reciprocable in the large-diameter langer-cylinder. A port :23 in the thread portion of the bore of the barrel communicates with the peripheral plun channel in the head 6 and connects through a passage E24 and port 9,5 with the lower end of the large-diameter lunger cylinder. The lower end ll of the plunger is tapering and lits between the converging inner edges of the cutting or impact blades.

The plunger has an axial chamber 26, having its upper end open, and ports 27 through its side and uncovered in the largediameter plunger cylinder when the plunger is in the uppermost ositiom The ends of the shanlzs of the cutting blades are offset or bent inwardly at 2S, and rearward to form tongues :29, whose outer faces are conv and are held within a flanged cap 30 secured upon the inlet-pipe by a nut 31, which clamps the offset portions of the shanks of the cutting blades against the nut 32 upon the inlet-pipe 10. t

The percuion tool is here lllustrated as of the well-known Chouteau valvele type, but may be of any other convenient construction, wherein the hammermg p1ston or plunger is rapidly reclprocated. 'lfhe motive fluid flows through the mlet-p1pe and the channels in the screw-threaded head to the channel opening into the lower or forward end of the large-diameter cylinder and through the rts 1n the plunger into the chamber in t e same to expand and force the pl ver downward to cause the tapering end 14 ereof to strike the inner obhque edges 1T of the cutting o r impact blades, expanding the latter w1th great rapidity against the scale or deposits 33 in the tube or iiues 34, so as to cut or chip the former with the outer teeth or projections. When the ports in the plunger are uncovered at the extremity of the down-stroke, the air behind the plunver and in its chamber flows out between the blades, and the inlet air lllorws from belor against i:ilzlhe flaca f the iston an returns e punger up wargd. I)The exhaust air blows into the boiler Hue and removes the chipped scale or deposit at the end of the same. As the entire tool is com aratively short, it can be employed in u of considerable curvature, and the cutting blades sla'ike very rapid and short blows upon the deposits and disintegrate the same and knock them from the exterior or interior of the flue.

External scales or deposits upon a ue can be dislodged by the blades from the inside of the flue, the serrations 18 being dispensed with, if desired, under such conditions.

The spring shanks 15 of the vibrating cutting or impact blades are of suilcient resiliency to cause the blades to spring inwardly toward the axis of the tool, when the tapering end of the rapidly reciprocating ger is returned from between their converging edges, and the impact of the tapering end of the plunger causes the impact blades to vibrate with great rapidity, their teeth striking and chipping or dislodging the scale or deposits, as they spring outwardly. As the spaces between the outer portions of the blades are proportionately wide, the detritus removed from the interior of the flue has suilcient room to enable it to be easily blown out of the Bue by the exhausting motive fluid.

If the blades, their shanks or their offset tongues break or lose their elasticity, the rear nut 31 can be unscrewed and the cap 30 moved from the tongues of said Shanks, when any or all of the resilient hammering blades are readily acceible and can be removed and replaced without dismantling or disturbing any other elements of the device.

By making the outer surfaces of the impact heads 1S to converge inwardly, it will be apparent that the device can readily be inserted and propelled along within the tube or flue which it is desired to clean.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to more by Letters Patent, is:-

1. In a percussive tube or flue cleaner, the combination of a body, a reciprocating piston therein, and independent and separately removable impact blades having converging outer faces supported within longitudinally extending grooves in said body, said piston and the inner faces of said blades having coacting inclined surfaces, and said blades being of greater length than said body.

2. In a percussive tube or due cleaner, a body having grooves in its periphery, independent and separately removable impact lades of greater length than said body, and having resilient shanks supported in said grooves, means inclosing and securing the inner ends of said Shanks to said body, and a freely reciprocating plunger to expand and rapldlv vibrate the outer or free ends of said blades. Y

3. In a boiler fine cleaner, a body having ves in its periphery extending the length thereof, a ammering plunger reciprocable within said body, and independent and separately removable cutting blades radially supported insaid grooves upon said body and having outer converging faces formed with transverse cutting projections and having inner converging faces adapted to receive the impact of such reciprocating plunger.

4. In a percussive tube or flue cleaner of the character mated, a body formed with longitudinally extending grooves in its outer surface, a hammering plunger reciprocable within said body, independent and separately removable cutters having resilient shanks located in said grooves and having one of their ends removably secured to the rear end of said body, said cutters projecting beyond the forward end of said body and adapted to be engaged and rapidly vibrated by the reciprocations of said plunger, said resilient shanks effecting the retraction of said blades.

5. In a. percussive tube or flue cleaner, a body, ahammering plunger reciprocable in said body, a screw-threaded inlet pipe extending from the upper end of said body, resilient cutters ha 0 Shanks with oiset inner ends formed with tongues bearing against said inlet (pipe, a. flanged cap upon said inletpipe an having its ange overlapping the tongues of sald Shanks, and a nut upon said pipe and bearing against said cap.

6. In a percussive tube or flue cleaner, a detachable impact blade, comprising an oiset end having a terminal tongue, an intermediate resilient shank, and an impact head having an inclined inner face and a serrated outer cutting face.

Gno. A. PARE-m, MCG. Lmtrox.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

